Obituary for Ernest M. Williams
Published by Culley's MeadowWood
Funeral Home. 
Ernest
Matthew Williams, Jr. (87) was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on October
5, 1928; the son of Ernest Matthew Williams, Sr. and Ida Mae (Hall)
Williams. Soon thereafter the family moved to Gainesville, Georgia, where
Ernest's mother died and his father, Ernest, Sr., later married Julia Q.
Williams. The family moved to Tallahassee, Florida, when Ernest, Jr. was in
the third grade. He attended Caroline Brevard and Sealey Memorial
elementary schools and graduated in 1947 from Leon High School where he
established an outstanding record in high school athletics. He earned ll
letters in sports, including baseball (was member of a state championship
team as a sophomore), basketball (co-captain as a senior), and football
(shared NEC conference all-star honors with Tommy Brown, Leon co-player,
and Pat Sumerall of Lake City at end). He was a member of the Leon High
Football Hall of Fame. Ernest played semi-pro baseball (pitcher) for the
Tallahassee Capitals in the Gulf Coast League from late 40's through mid
50's.
Ernest attended Florida State University beginning in 1947, the
first year it was co-ed and was a member of the first FSU basketball team,
the team that won the first victory for an FSU varsity sport on December
10, 1948. He began working at the Office of the Florida State Comptroller's
in 1949 and had advanced to assistant supervisor of the Machine Department.
In 1956 Ernest re-enrolled at FSU, majoring in Accounting. He graduated in
1959 (as a member of the accounting honorary of those in the top 10% of the
class), Beta Gamma Sigma; later achieved an MBA degree, also from the
College of Business, and achieved the CPA professional certification in
Accounting. During the following years Ernest was employed by Peat-Marwick,
by the Florida Auditor General, as Assistant Comptroller of FSU, and as
Director of Internal Management Auditing of FSU.
Following his
retirement from FSU Ernest became a dedicated member of the Golden Boys
tennis group at Tallahassee's Forestmeadows courts. During this period of
over a decade he became re-acquainted with former friends and developed
relationships with many new friends. In either case, all were aware that
his competitive spirit had not weakened in the least.
Ernest was
predeceased by his mother, Ida Mae Hall Williams; his father, Ernest
Matthew Williams, Sr.; his step-mother, Julia Q. Williams; and his brother,
Jack Hall Williams. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Charlotte Allen
Williams; his son, Ernest Matthew Williams, III, "Matt", two
grand-daughters, Cody Sutton Williams and Julia Katharyn Williams; a
sister, Bobbie Jean Williams; brothers, Lew Daniel Williams and Don Allen
Williams; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
